Profile: Tracy Ruberg

Meet Tracy Ruberg. President/Owner of T6 Group and Executive Director of The Circuit. 

Name: Tracy Ruberg

Job: President/Owner of T6 Group and Executive Director of The Circuit – SW Ohio’s non-profit IT Industry association

City: Fairfield

Hometown: Cincinnati

Q: What do you do at T6 Group and The Circuit?
T6 Group: We help organizations understand technology changes, how to prioritize them, the value they will have to the business and ultimately get their staff to adopt and adapt to the changes. 

The Circuit: Is a non-profit IT Industry organization designed to foster connection and collaboration among IT Professionals. 

Q: What’s a problem that you are working to solve? 
T6 Group: We help executive teams understand the opportunities, cost, and value of technology to their organization, help organizations adopt and adapt to the change being introduced which ultimately helps them save precious resources – their time and money.

The Circuit: By providing IT professionals the opportunity to Connect and Collaborate, they will not only learn from each other on technical topics but share the really progressive things that are taking place in the region. This will help generate a sense of excitement that bubbles over and will help us attract and retain talent in the region.   

Q: What’s a lesson you’ve learned that has helped shaped your work? 
There is more than one way to do things. Just because it is different than the way I would have done it doesn’t mean it is wrong. Letting people do things the way they are comfortable as long as we are moving forward can often lead to better results.  

Q: What’s a trend in technology or innovation that you believe doesn’t get enough attention? 
We often get so enamored with the technology that we sometimes forget it is here to serve people. It’s frustrating to see great companies with great management teams spend a ton of money on a solution and be disappointed in the end because they just don’t get the benefit they expected.  

In order to serve people, we need to get their input before we build out “the perfect solutions” that we think they need/want. In many cases (if not most) of them, if there had been more upfront planning and input by the folks that will actually use the solution, the end result could have been much better. 

Q: What’s one moonshot idea that could help make Ohio a world leader in technology and innovation? 
I would shout from the mountaintops just how much cool stuff is going on in the state so that IT professionals would all want to live and work here. We have such a great balance of so many things: Big Co down to start ups; traditional businesses like Kroger and all the insurance companies coupled with creative businesses like Listnr and Root insurance; big city advantages without lots of big city problems, small city living benefits too... so many great things. 

Q: What’s a recent book, podcast or news story that you found interesting? 
Atomic Habits by James Clear. It talks about how even the smallest things done with consistency over time can yield outstanding results. When I started reading the book, I didn’t know that Clear was from the Cincinnati area (or that my son-in-law played baseball with him on the team when he got injured.) The guidance in the book applies to any part of your life – personal or professional.

Q: What's your favorite place in Ohio? 
Probably my own back yard where my husband built a nice outdoor living area. It can be peaceful and quiet but is also a place where we entertain a lot with family and friends so there is a lot of laughter there. I also love any outdoor restaurant – especially one with a view of water. 

Q: What makes Ohio special to you?  
It is such a great balance of big city benefits like pro sports, great arts scene with musicals and museums balanced with a small city feel. People know each other and help each other. Plus traffic isn’t awful like the big cities, we get all 4 seasons and I can go from being downtown into a rural area in just a few minutes!

I used to think I didn’t want to live anywhere else because I didn’t know better. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to travel some, there are lots of other nice places but this is still HOME. 

Connect with Tracy on LinkedIn.